Submarine digging wheel which discharges material in an air chamber

ABSTRACT

A submarine dredge comprises a rotatable bucket wheel surmounted by a hood. Compressed air is fed beneath the hood so that the water level beneath the hood is maintained a substantial distance below the high point of the path of the buckets. As a result, the buckets discharge into air much more readily than they would discharge if totally submerged. The solids discharged from the bucket are caught in a hopper within the wheel, and means are provided to supply water to the hopper so that a water-soil mixture can be removed by suction. Water jets are played into the buckets to assist discharge therefrom and the jets are controlled visually either remotely or directly.

[ July 29, 1975 SUBMARINE DIGGING WHEEL WHICH DISCHARGES MATERIAL IN AN AIR CHAMBER [75] Inventor: Cornelis Van der Gaag, Delft, Netherlands [73] Assignee: N.V. lndustrieele Handelscombinatie Holland, Rotterdam, Netherlands 22 Filed: Feb. 21, 1974 21 Appl. No 444,387

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 21, 1973 Netherlands 7302421 [52] U.S. Cl 37/56; 37/70 [51] Int. Cl E021 3/92 {58] Field of Search 37/66, 70, 56, 54; 299/8, 299/9 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 532,182 1/1895 Pike 37/66 X 708,583 9/1902 Powell 37/70 719,567 2/1903 Conlin 37/70 867,984 l0/l907 Lake 1,106,038 8/1914 Fruhling..... 2,801,479 8/1957 Braver 3,480,326 11/1969 Sheary et al. 3,614,837 10/1971 Araoka 37/66 X Primary ExaminerClifford D. Crowder Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Young & Thompson [57] ABSTRACT A submarine dredge comprises a rotatable bucket wheel surmounted by a hood. Compressed air is fed beneath the hood so that the water level beneath the hood is maintained a substantial distance below the high point of the path of the buckets. As a result, the buckets discharge into air much more readily than they would discharge if totally submerged. The solids discharged from the bucket are caught in a hopper within the wheel, and means are provided to supply water to the hopper so that a water-soil mixture can be removed by suction. Water jets are played into the buckets to assist discharge therefrom and the jets are controlled visually either remotely or directly.

3 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure SUBMARINEDIGGING WHEELWHICH DISCHARGESMATERIAL IN AN AIR CHAMBER The present invention relates to submarine dredges, more particularly of the type in which a rotary bucket wheel digs submarine soil and discharges the same into a suction tube for conveyance to the surface.

Known submarine dredges of this type suffer from the disadvantage that the submarine soil does not readily discharge from the buckets. In part, this is due to the fact that the difference between the specific gravity of the submarine soil and the specific gravity of the water in which the buckets operate, is not sufficiently great to promote rapid and easy discharge.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a submarine dredge in which discharge of submarine soil from the buckets is facilitated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a submarine dredge which will be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to operate, maintain and repair, and rugged and durable in use.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, which is a somewhat schematic view, with parts in cross section, of a submarine dredge according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing in greater detail, there is shown a submarine dredge according to the present invention, comprising a digging wheel I mounted for rotation about its horizontal axis on a conventional horizontal shaft (not shown), at the lower end of a vertically swinging arm (not shown) which is pivotally secured at its upper end to a floating device such as a barge (not shown) to receive the evacuated submarine soil.

Wheel 1 has a plurality of digging buckets 2 about its periphery, which buckets open radially inwardly toward the axis of rotation of wheel 1 so that they discharge submarine soil toward the center of the digging wheel when they are about at the zenith of their orbit.

The submarine soil is indicated in the drawing at 3 and the surface of the body of water in which the dredger is submerged, is indicated at 4.

Disposed in the center of the wheel is an upwardly opening collecting hopper 5 which is nonrotatably carried by the digging wheel shaft and the dredger arm. Hopper 5 has a conventional suction pipe 6 whose inlet end opens into the bottom of hopper 5. Pipe 6 extends up the dredger arm to the barge or other collector for the evacuated submarine soil, on which a conventional suction pump (not shown) is provided for creating suction in pipe 6 to draw a mixture of water and submarine soil in hopper 5 through pipe 6 and up to the surface. Water is supplied to hopper 5 through a water supply pipe 7 so as to provide sufficient water in hopper 5 to maintain a mixture that will flow readily through pipe 6.

The greater part of the periphery of the digging wheel is surrounded from above by a hood 8, which preferably extends on all sides of wheel 1 at least as far down as the axis of rotation of wheel 1 and preferably farther. Hood 8 is closed on all sides except the bottom and compressed air is supplied to the underside of hood 8 by a conventional compressed air supply 8' whose inlet beneath hood 8 is shown in the drawing. As with the source of suction, so also the source of compressed air may be from a conventional air compressor (not shown) on the barge or other floating base of the dredge.

The dredging operation is monitored visually from a chamber 9 mounted on an upper rear portion of hood 8 and including a control panel 9' having viewing means thereon. Monitoring thus may be remote, by television camera, or direct, by an operator in chamber 9. Either way, water jet nozzles 10 are controlled so as to direct water into the buckets 2 thereby to control emptying of the buckets into hopper 5. The same water pump (not shown) that supplies water to pipe 7 may supply water to nozzles 10.

The compressed air supply to the underside of hood 8 forces the water down to a level 11 such that the buckets discharge into hopper 5 from a distance substantially above the water level beneath hood 8. Thus the marine soil discharged from buckets 2 falls through the air and lands in the water in hopper 5, the water level 11 being preferably below the upper edges of hopper 5. The difference in specific gravity between the dredged marine soil and the air through which it falls is so great as to promote its rapid fall; and the viscosity of air is so much less than that of water that the discharge from buckets 2 to hopper 5 is still further promoted.

In hopper 5, the water level may vary over a considerable range, for example from 12 to 12', and is maintained by further additions of water from pipe 7, because the water outside hopper 5 is at a lower level than the upper edges of hopper 5 and so does not supply to hopper 5 the water necessary to maintain a flowable mixture in pipe 6.

It will be appreciated that the discharge from buckets 2 into open air promotes visual control of the bucket discharge. Also, the discharge from buckets 2 into open air promotes the control of that discharge by the water jets 10.

Also, the fact that water is controllably supplied to hopper 5 through pipe 7 makes it possible much more precisely to control the proportions of the water-soil mix than if ambient water filled hopper 5.

Furthermore, a device according to the present invention is also amphibious and can be used both above and below water, as is sometimes necessary when excavating a talus which extends both above and below water.

From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will be evident that all of the initially recited objects of the present invention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated in connection with preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the purview and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A submarine dredge comprising a bucket wheel rotatable about a horizontal axis, a hood surmounting the bucket wheel, means to inject compressed air beneath the hood to drive the water level beneath the hood below the top of the bucket wheel so that the buckets discharge submarine soil into open air beneath the hood, a hopper within the wheel to catch submarine 3. A submarine dredge as claimed in claim 1, and water jets beneath said hood to direct water under pressure into said buckets, and means for visually monitoring the operation of said water jets. 

1. A submarine dredge comprising a bucket wheel rotatable about a horizontal axis, a hood surmounting the bucket wheel, means to inject compressed air beneath the hood to drive the water level beneath the hood below the top of the bucket wheel so that the buckets discharge submarine soil into open air beneath the hood, a hopper within the wheel to catch submarine soil that falls froM the buckets through the air into the hopper, and a suction pipe to withdraw submarine soil and water from the hopper.
 2. A submarine dredge as claimed in claim 1, and a water supply pipe to supply water to said hopper.
 3. A submarine dredge as claimed in claim 1, and water jets beneath said hood to direct water under pressure into said buckets, and means for visually monitoring the operation of said water jets. 